PGMA issues Proclamation for 2010 holidays

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued Proclamation No. 1841 declaring the regular holidays, special (non-working) days and special holiday (for all schools) for the year 2010. In issuing the proclamation which she signed last July 21, the President said that Republic Act No. 9492 dated July 24, 2007, amended Section 26 Chapter 7 Book 1 of Executive Order No. 292, also known as the Administrative Code of 1987, by declaring certain days (specific or movable) as special or regular holidays. She noted that R.A No. 9492 provides that holidays, except those which are religious in nature, are moved to the nearest Monday unless otherwise modified by law, order or proclamation. R.A. No. 9492 also provides that the Eid’l Adha shall be celebrated as a regional holiday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The President said that in order to foster closer family ties and enable the Filipino people to observe Christmas more meaningful, it is but fitting to declare December 24 (Friday) as an additional special (non-working) day throughout the country. “This will also serve to strengthen family relationships by providing a longer week-end and renewing ties for a longer period of time, as well as promote domestic tourism,” she stressed. The President added that the EDSA People Power Revolution, which restored and ushered political, social and economic reforms in the country, serves as an inspiration to Filipinos everywhere as a nation and as a people. Under Proclamation No. 1841, the President said the following regular holidays and special days for the year 2010 shall be observed in the country:   A. Regular Holidays New Year’s Day           January 1  Maunday Thursday       April 1 Good Friday               April 2 Araw ng Kagitingan      April 9 (Friday) Labor Day May 1   Independence Day June 14 (Monday nearest June 12) National Heroes Day August 30 (Last Monday of August) Bonifacio Day November 29 (Monday nearest November 30) Christmas Day December 25 (Saturday)  Rizal Day December 27 (Monday nearest December 30) B. Special (Non-Working) Days Ninoy Aquino Day    August  23 (Monday nearest August 21) All Saints Day November 1 (Monday) Additional Special (Non-Working) Day December 24 (Friday)   Last Day of the Year December 31 (Friday) C. Special Holiday (for all schools) EDSA Revolution Anniversary February 22 (Monday nearest February 25) According to the President, the proclamation declaring a national holiday for the observance of the Eid’l Fitr shall hereafter be issued after the approximate date of the Islamic holiday has been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations, whichever is possible or convenient. She added that to this end, the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) shall inform the Office of the President on which day the holiday shall fall. To bring the religious and cultural significance of the Eid’l Adha to the fore of national consciousness, a proclamation declaring a national holiday shall also hereafter be likewise issued after the approximate date of the Islamic holiday has been determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations, whichever is possible or convenient. In this connection, the President also said that the OMA shall inform the OP on which day the holiday shall fall. SOURCE: www.ops.gov.ph

View from the 7th floor of citystate centre.







Absolutely weird weather. It would rain so hard that it would be difficult to see the road when you're driving, then it would suddenly halt like nothing happened. The sun would take a peek for a minute, then the heavy rains would drop like crazy from the skies.

There's no typhoon, no low pressure area.

And as usual, Dep Ed made a late announcement regarding the suspension of classes.


Sent from my iPhone

The Guess summer mall tour had its finale at the ayala center in Cebu! Miguel/little man guile of Magic 89.9 was flown to Cebu to host the event. Keanna of star magic-Cebu was the co-host.

Guess had just opened its kids' store in the 3rd level of the ayala mall, and this mall tour is a fitting welcome party!

Star magic kids-Cebu, with Miguel, paraded in the latest summer wear for kids in the fashion show.

There was also a dance demo and performances from the singers of the center for pop music.

Cycles had its face-painting booth and Universal Robina Corporation gave out snacks.

The official residence of the Guess group was the Parklane Hotel.

Cebu is really clean and beautiful. And the cab drivers are so funny and nice.

Ayala mall in Cebu is the prettiest mall that I've ever seen. Even better than the one in glorietta. Their guards give you a coupon wherein they list down the plate number of the cab that you ride in.

We weren't able to explore Cebu that much since we had to fly out the following day. But it was fun to eat in the famous seafood place Neo Neo and to see the Carmelite monastery where former President Cory Aquino hid during the snap elections in the '80's.








Sent from my iPhone

A day before our car's scheduled repair, I almost got bumped by a bus which apparently lost its brakes while traversing Commonwealth Avenue near East Fairview Subdivision! 

This man casually crossed the street of Edsa (crossing) near shaw boulevard. I was surprised when he stopped at the corner and pulled his pants and pressed himself onto the post of the mrt.

What?!? So this is the liquid which usually falls to the road/tunnel down under? And I thought it was just water!

I don't understand why this guy would urinate in full view of the public, and the MMDA, who is supposedly a stickler for discipline, doesn't do anything about it.








Sent from my iPhone

How long can you last without sending messages to your family, friends and colleagues? A day? An hour? A minute? Heck, not even a second!!!!

This is probably the reason why the Italian Catholic priests have recommended banning text messaging during the Lenten season as a form of abstinence or "pagtitika."

Aside from banning sms, the faithful should also avoid internet surfing, electronic chatting or listening to their I-pods until the end of Lent which is on Easter Sunday. The Catholic Lenten season officially started last week with Ash Wednesday.

Textless Fridays...FB-less and Multiply-less Fridays.....YM-less Fridays....meatless Fridays....

excerpts from the article in www.philstar.com:

Dioceses and Catholic groups in Modena, southern Bari and other cities have called for a ban on text messaging every Friday in Lent, which began last week with Ash Wednesday.

"It's a small way to remember the importance of concrete and not virtual relationships," the Modena diocese said in a statement. "It's an instrument to remind us that our actions and lifestyles have consequences in distant countries."

The diocese said the "no SMS day" seeks to draw attention to years of conflict in Congo fueled in part by the struggle for control of coltan mines. The mineral is an essential material in cell phones.

The Turin diocese is suggesting the faithful not watch television during Lent. In the northeastern city of Trento, the church has created a "new lifestyles" calendar with proposals for each week of Lent.

Some ideas: Leave cars at home and hop on a bike or a bus; stop throwing chewing gum on the street and start recycling waste; enjoy the silence of a week without the Internet and iPods.

Italian laity and clergy have reacted cautiously to the proposals. Some say Lenten abstinence should be a personal matter, and others contend that people who need technology to work shouldn't be asked to do without.

"What does giving up mean? If the use is capricious, then abstinence is welcome, but if technology is needed for work it makes no sense," said the Rev. Giancarlo Angelo Andreis, a priest at a Rome basilica.

Everyone in this line believes that he/she will be the next p270 millionaire - including me!

I bet that all the lotto outlets have this crazy line today as the 6/49 pot kept growing and reached this enormosity!

I have lined up my plans for my millions - build a building for the street children, a building for the stray dogs and cats, a training center for the jobless...my list goes on.

But I will be very discreet about my projects as I don't wanna be kidnapped or killed by those who would lose today.

Haha! :)








Sent from my iPhone

Guile / Miguel of Magic 89.9 fm, the youngest DJ in the country will be featured in the Astig Mo Kid segment of Pinoy Records on February 14, 2009. The GMA 7 show, hosted by Manny Pacquiao and Chris Tiu, airs every Saturday 6:00 - 7:00 pm.








Sent from my iPhone

"You can be the smartest man in the world, but if you are not lucky you won’t succeed. “

These are the words of Alfonso Yuchengco, former Ambassador of the Philippines to the United Nations, and founder of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, among which is the controversial Pacific Plans, Incorporated.

He is indeed a very lucky man - now that he is among the richest in the country, has a street in his name (in Binondo, Manila), and has allegedly sold his controversial company, Pacific Plans, Inc. for P250 million!

This means that he is passing on his problems to the new owner, Noel Onate, an investment banker and founder of the Asian Spirit Airlines (sold and now named Zest Air).

But what will happen to the thousands of Pacific planholders who are hoping that in 2010, they could get their money from their preneed education plans? How could they pay up their debts for their children's tuition fees during the years that the company has stopped honoring their claims.

And isn't the company under court receivership (due to the rehabilitation)? How can the Yuchengcos sell their company when it is under the court's control?

What would happen to the pending case of the Parents Enabling Parents Coalition in the Supreme Court which is questioning the legality of the company's rehabilitation?

How could a company with P12 billion worth of assets be granted rehabilitation in the first place?

Tomorrow, January 22, we will have Philip Piccio, president of the PEP Coalition, in our show (on DWIZ 882 AM / www.dwiz882.com), Business is our Business between 12-1 pm.

Mr. Piccio will discuss the possible legal violations of this sale and the coalition's plan.

Below is the news article on the Pacific sale:


Yuchengcos sell Pacific Plans for P250M

By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 12:25:00 01/20/2009

Filed Under: Insurance, Banking, Company Information, Mergers -
Acquisitions - Takeovers

MANILA, Philippines -- The Yuchengcos have sold their troubled pre-
need unit Pacific Plans Inc. (PPI) to a group led by investment
banker and Asian Spirit Airlines founder Noel Oñate.

Oñate, who sold Asian Spirit in 2008, announced Tuesday his
acquisition of all the shares of the Yuchengcos' GPL Holdings in
Pacific Plans. Sources said his group, which agreed to pay P250
million to take over PPI, would infuse additional capital.

The acquisition will be made through Oñate's Abundance Providers
Investments Corp. (APIC), which pledged to expand the company by
selling and servicing education, pension and memorial plans.

APIC will also service the traditional educational plans based on the
provisions of PPI's court-approved modified rehabilitation plan.

Oñate said PPI was in "good financial stead" with consolidated trust
fund assets of P12 billion and operating revenues of P1.2 billion.

"With our fresh perspective and focus, we will work with our plan
holders initially to ride out the present economic challenges and
then gain strength and momentum," he said.

PPI was a major pre-need player that was brought down by its open-
ended educational plans when the government allowed schools to
increase tuition fees without limit in 1990. Burdened by the
unlimited tuition increases, PPI sought and obtained court
rehabilitation in 2005.

"There were other parties interested in PPI but the group of Mr.
Oñate was chosen given his track record of success, his strong
financial standing, and his vision for the company and its plan
holders," PPI president Alfredo Non said.

"The sale was a business decision that will benefit all parties: PPI
and its plan holders, because Mr. Oñate has promised his full
resources, energy and focus on his new venture; and the Yuchengco
Group, which can now fully focus on its banking and mainstream
insurance businesses," Non said.

Oñate enters the pre-need business after selling Asian Spirit
Airlines, now Zest Air, an airline he established in 1995.

He worked with Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. and later became
director of Philippine National Oil Co., Metro Manila Tollways Corp.
and Summit Realty Corp. He was also vice-chairman of Airbridge-
Hawaiian Airlines and currently managing director of Smetrix
Financial (HK) Ltd.

Joining Oñate in the new PPI board are businesswoman Carlotta
Montinola, lawyers Rita Linda Jimeno, Ronaldo Geron and businessman
Rodolfo Serrano, Jr.

I just hope these two are both unmarried (to other people). Hehe!

Having breakfast in Jollibee Pioneer Center-Pasig while waiting for
Miguel to finish his show in Magic 89.9 (Goodtimes with Mo). Starting
to get bored... when I saw this couple, the girl's in a red sweater and
the guy's in a barong, hugging while waiting for their turn in the
counter.


Actually, it's the girl who's hugging the guy all throughout the long
wait. But I'm sure the guy's just enjoying the moment.

People are giving them a stink eye. You know how it is with some
conservative Pinoys. Public display of affection is a no-no.

I am an affectionate person myself and I'm wondering now if I did the
same thing when I was younger and foolish. :-) Things that you do when
you're head over heels in love.

You might be wondering why traffic is so bad everyday in the Ortigas Flyover in C5. Well, our friendly MMDA has devised another way of "easing the traffic." It is putting up another elevated u-turn in Barangay East Rembo C-5 - Kalayaan, Makati City!

The elevated u-turn is the ingenious idea of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando. Why, this is the only elevated u-turn in the whole world! This is supposed to save the motorists a lot of time by easing the flow of traffic.

But why is the traffic still heavy in this area? Well, the first elevated u-turn ate up a big chunk of the former 12-lane road (6 in each side) in that area of C-5 - Kalayaan. Now, vehicles have to squeeze in the center (below the elevated u-turn) which accomodates 2 vehicles at a time. The elevated u-turn accomodates two vehicles but when you reach the top, the two vehicles can't make the u-turn side by side, unless they wanna bump into each other. Vehicles sometimes get stuck on the u-turn because they have to give way to the incoming traffic on the other side.

And now, there will be another one on the other side of the intersection.

I really hope that when the construction of the other elevated u-turn is done, traffic in this area will be better, thus making life easier in the Ortigas - C5 area.

Meanwhile, what I do is take the White Plains route to reach Ortigas. Or turn right to Fontera Verde towards Silver City and exit at Julia Vargas.

And pray that I reach my office in time for my board work at 12 noon.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) gets everybody buzzing when she showed up in an off-shoulder pink knitted blouse, with pink straps holding her tank top, black leather belt with big silver studs and tight pants in the first Cabinet meeting of the year in the Macaraeg-Macapagal ancestral home in Iligan City.

A bold fashion statement, so they say...but a welcome look for the President who doesn't look like a senior citizen. Who would believe that she's already 62 years old?

But wait, was she inspired by US President-Elect Barrack Obama's bare top photo?

How about you? What is your reaction regarding GMA's bold fashion move?

Check out the pictures (grabbed from www.ops.gov.ph)!

The year 2008 was kinda rough for me career-wise, but the events helped me understand more what "letting go" and "moving on" mean.

At the start of the year, I faced the inevitable - my pride and joy had to end. My daily program on DWIZ 882 am, WOMANTALK, had to go because of the new programs that would assure the company of a regular income.

Yes, Womantalk, was an award-winning show, it helped a lot of women and men face their daily troubles or queries, and had some advertisements, but these were not enough to sustain the program. Fortunately, I had two weeks to say goodbye to my listeners.

It was difficult at first, but when you start accepting it without any resistance, things will slowly fall into place. And you will understand why these changes must happen.

I was retained in the daily business program, Business is our Business, with Butch del Castillo and also in my Sunday programs. When the management cut down my music program by an hour, due to another blocktimer, I did not put up a fight or begged for a re-arrangement of schedules. I just went with the flow.

I had a lot of free time in my hands, and I understood the reason why I was "relieved" of my beloved program - it was because I had to focus more on my son, Miguel.

He started receiving a lot of offers in 2008. Aside from co-hosting Good Times with Mo every Monday (6-10 am), he's doing The Playground every Sunday with Big Daddy Jake, which eventually became a 3 hour program (7-10 am).

Miguel had to voice several radio commercials and dub an Indian animation movie. He had to dub for three telenovelas, too, and host some corporate/school shows. Then, he went back to tv. He hosted RPN 9's Newswatch Junior Edition Season 1 and continued as its host/reporter for Season 2. It would have been difficult to bring him to his gigs if I had a tight schedule myself.

But, I still tried to veer away from my course. I auditioned for a newscaster job in a small tv station. I got great comments from the management but eventually, it all boiled down to my weight. They took in the young and sexy girls.

I was offered to teach in a university. But practicality won over my desire to teach.

Oh well, back to driving Miguel. And I am always delighted to do that. His experiences and achievements give me so much joy.

This year, 2009, I am ready for whatever changes that may happen. I know that behind the changes are God's perfect plan for us.

So, surprise me!

THE DAY THE EARTH WILL STAND STILL - FOR ONE SECOND! that will be before the stroke of midnight on new year's eve!

the earth will not really stop from rotating...the scientists will just have to pause their clocks for a second to adjust to the slow rotation of the earth due to the moon's tide (not a global warming effect.) the last time we had a leap second, i believe, was in 2005.

got this interesting article from yahoo by joe rao:

The start of next year will be delayed by circumstances beyond everyone's control. Time will stand still for one second on New Year's Eve, as we ring in the New Year on that Wednesday night. As a result, you'll have an extra second to celebrate because a "Leap Second" will be added to 2008 to let a lagging Earth catch up to super-accurate clocks.

By international agreement, the world's timekeepers, in order to keep their official atomic clocks in step with the world's irregular but gradually slowing rotation, have decreed that a Leap Second be inserted between 2008 and 2009.

The extra second, ordered by the world's nominal timekeeper, the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, will be marked officially at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday in Greenwich, England, the home of what is popularly known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) – Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to the more technically inclined – the standard time for the planet.

So at precisely 23:59:60 at Greenwich, England, on New Year's Eve, there will be a one-second void before the onset of midnight and the start of the New Year. Wednesday will see the 24th Leap Second that has been needed since the practice was initiated in 1972, and will be the first in three years.

arrrgghhh!!!! wrong calculations! the full moon at its brightest and largest showed up yesterday (saturday, dec 13...friday in the usa, dec. 12)

i was so excited that after reading the yahoo article, i came to the conclusion that the celestial event is gonna happen next friday yet. i totally forgot that when i was reading the article, it was still thursday in the us, and the friday that they're referring to is their friday, not our local friday. waaaahhh!!!!  i missed it!!!! please don't kill me for making such an irresponsible announcement =((

miguel (again) noticed that the moon was so bright when we were on our way home from timog avenue. it was already 8 pm.

nah! it couldn't be my dream moon. it's supposed to show on the 19th (like i believed it would). then i told guile about the biggest moon that me and his dad saw while we were in iba, zambales in 1993. we were at the beach front of sand valley when we saw, from the horizon, a very large moon. really huge! it was like i could jump over and be on the moon in no time. his dad said it was just an illusion. too bad, we didn't have a camera then (because we didn't wanna record anything from that "takas" trip! hehehe!)

anyways, here's the yahoo article which made me so excited i forgot about the time difference:

(source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081211/sc_space/yearsbiggestfullmoonfridaynight)

The full moon Friday night will be the biggest one of the year as Earth's natural satellite reaches its closest point to our planet.

(photo of the moon courtesy of my bro in law: LUIS SARNE via his canon slr)

CIIT (Cosmopoint International Institute of Technology), an I.T. school in Timog Avenue, Quezon City, hosted an early Christmas party for the street children who are under the care of Child Hope Asia.

The Newswatch Junior Edition hosts, Miguel, Cheeno, John and Janeena joined the kids of Child Hope as they watched funny videos and held a little get together party. The NJE kids also helped in distributing gifts such as food and toys to the kids of Child Hope.

Junior, one of the friendly kids in the group, shared to me that they live in the streets in Monumento, Kalookan, near the University of the East. They have families who also dwell in the streets.

It just pains me to know that after this party where they ate food from a famous fast food restaurant and had fun with their new toys, they are going back to the streets to beg and try to survive....until the next Christmas Party.

I hope there will be a better and permanent solution to their plight.



Sent from my iPhone

What could make me happier than an almost full tank of gas for only a thousand bucks?

I have never felt this ecstatic whenever I stop for gas. It has been ages since I last saw my meter go up like this at Php 1000.

Gas is a necessity as I always drive my son, Miguel, to school and to his gigs. When gas was at almost Php 60.00, I could feel my blood rising up as gas trickles in my tank.

Presently, unleaded gas is at p36.07! But I think that the local oil companies can still pull it lower, now that the Dubai crude oil price is at $39.15. OPEC's basket price is at $40.75.

The public transport sector should also make further adjustments in their fares.

I am waiting for more good news in the coming days :).








Sent from my iPhone

I was playing Bejeweled on my phone while waiting for the computer to completely boot up when Miguel rushed inside the house and called me like there was an emergency.

My heart was pounding as I was going down the stairs because I thought that he saw another bump or big scratch on the car since we parked earlier in the Tomas Morato area where the Anak TV office is (for a briefing on his hosting gig on Wednesday for the Anak TV Awards).

But when I saw him with his big smile and almost twinkling eyes, I heaved a sigh of relief.

Miguel said: "God is smiling tonight!"

He pointed at the sky, and there it was - the most majestic heavenly display that I've ever seen in my entire life! A set of twinkling stars and a smiling moon. It looked like Miguel's face when he excitedly called me in the house.

 

I thought I saw something earlier on the net regarding the moon and the two planets aligning, so I searched and found out that Venus and Jupiter are the two "twinkling stars" and the smiling moon is a crescent moon (in geek talk, it is called planetary conjunctions - when two planets align and go closest to the moon. The moon's extra glow is called earthshine).  It was so neatly "arranged" that it looked like a smiley!

Is God on ym and He just replied with a smiley? Hahaha!

Definitely amazing!

Watching Miguel on the big stage was an overwhelming experience. I was holding back my tears as he was strutting his stuff in the opening number of the 1st Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards.

Guile was tapped by Guess to model for them along with the kids of Star Magic. At first, there was a video presentation of Guess Kids USA and the stage was pitch black. Then, the spotlight focused on Miguel on a make-believe turntable with his headset on as he "played" Music by Madonna.

One by one, the kids of Star Magic made their dance moves and when everybody's already on stage, Miguel walked the runway. He looked so tall while walking with so much confidence and energy. He also danced while "playing" the music mix.

I really thought that he'd froze or would back out at the last minute because he used to hate performing in a big crowd. But after hosting the Battle of the Bands in my alma mater, Immaculate Conception Academy of Manila and enjoying the reception of a warm audience, I saw a very confident Miguel emerging from a bevy of kids on stage.

He was the last one to exit the stage. Oh, how he loved the audience - he even gave a solo bow after their number.

Miguel emerged again on stage with Paolo

Bediones and Jaya. This time, he wore a creation by Brian Dy of My Philippines / My National Shirt. He was beaming with pride as he ran to the audience to tap their hands. I was so excited as he opened the presentation of The Fave TV Show award by asking the audience: "Are you ready to play a game?"

He did a good job! He hosted like a pro! Paolo even commended him on cam for a job well done! And he said that Jaya also gave him wonderful comments backstage.

After his share of the spotlight, he turned to fan mode. Miguel is a very big fan of Michael V. and he has been wishing to see him personally. He was even bugging me to bring him to the taping of Bubble Gang since he was 9.I told him then that the right time will come for that. And it came yesterday!

I took their pic...and that brief moment was like eternity for Miguel. Big bodyguards in black almost killed Miguel's moment when they asked us to leave: "tama na 'yan. Tapos na po!"

But Miguel didn't allow Michael V. to go without saying a word to him. The first thing that came out from his mouth was: "Can I be a part of Bubble Gang?"

Michael V. was taken aback and looked at him intently. He said: "Yeah, maybe in seven years you will. Just practice, hone your skills."

"Wow!"

Is this a prophetic statement?

Maridel Martinez, a Filipina who is now based in Melbourne, Australia, interviewed Miguel in UCC tomas morato earlier for her program in SBS Radio (www.sbs.com.au).

She asked Miguel about his current jobs - as a Dj for magic 89.9 fm and tv host for newswatch junior edition. She also asked if Miguel misses anything about his youth - like playing or watching tv since he is already working at such a young age (he is 13). Guile said work is play for him because he loves his jobs.

He was asked to answer in Tagalog since the program is in Filipino. I was surprised to know that there is a Filipino radio station in Australia.

Maridel shared to us that SBS has actually a number of radio stations broadcasting in 68 languages! Her program is all about interesting people here in the Philippines (makes me miss my program Womantalk). She has already interviewed tintin bersola and rj ledesma.

Sometimes, she does her interviews via phone patch. But since she's here for a brief visit, she pursued miguel for a face to face interview.

Maridel promised that she will upload the interview on the net once aired in her program. She's leaving for Australia tomorrow.








Sent from my iPhone